1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control device for driving a movable member of electrically-driven equipment under control at a velocity just as a user intended.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, movable members, such as a window (including a sliding roof) or a sliding seat of a vehicle, or automatic door for a building, increasingly employ a drive system utilizing an electric actuator such as a motor (that is, a power window system, for example). In such a system, the movable member is activated by the user by operating a final control element of an operation switch (knob-type or sea-saw type, for example).
In the system of this type, the movable member is operated simply at a constant action velocity according to ON-OFF operation of the switch, and cannot be operated at a velocity just as the user intended since there is no means for switching the action velocity of the movable member. Therefore, there were such problems that when the user wants to finely adjust the extent of opening of the window, the window sometimes excessively moves and hence the user is obliged to re-adjust the position many times, which is troublesome, that the user cannot stop the window accurately at a desired position, or that it cannot cope with the case when the user wants quick operation.
In order to solve these problems, the following technologies are proposed in the related art.
JP-UM-A-5-89771 discloses a control device for a power window in which the action velocity of the opening-closing member is increased gradually as the duration of ON-state of the operation switch by starting the window (window glass) to move at a low velocity when the operation switch is turned on, then switching the duty according to the duration of ON-state of the operation switch, and providing PWM control to the motor according to the duty.
JP-A-9-60420 discloses a control device for a power window in which the velocity of opening-closing operation is adjusted by the amount of turn of a rotary switch and the window is adapted to be opened by a small amount by pushing a separately provided push switch once.
JP-UM-A-7-21982 discloses a control device for a power window in which the action velocity of the window can be switched between low-velocity and high-velocity, so that the action of the window is started at a low-velocity first when the operating switch is turned ON, and then after having elapsed a certain period of time, the velocity is switched to the high-velocity.
JP-A-7-139260 discloses a control device for a power window in which the window is operated at a high velocity when a switch for issuing a command for automatic operation (the operation in which the window is closed to the fully closed position or opened to the fully opened position automatically even when the user stops operation), while the window is operated at a low velocity when a switch for issuing a command for manual operation (the operation in which the movement stops immediately when the user stops operation).
However, the control device disclosed in the respective patent publications described above has the problems to be solved as shown below.
The devices disclosed in JP-UM-A-5-89771 and JP-UM- A-7-21982, when the switch is operated, the window starts operation always at a low velocity, and continues the low-velocity operation until a predetermined period is elapsed. Therefore, when the user wants to open or close the window quickly, it does not necessarily achieve the quick opening-closing operation as the user intended, which makes the user become irritated.
The device disclosed in JP-A-9-60420, since the opening and closing velocity is adjusted according to the amount of turn of the rotary switch (rotary final control element), the user's feeling of operation does not always correspond to the actual action velocity of the window, and hence the operability is not satisfactory. When the rotary switch is employed, there are also problems such that the user cannot have a sensory perception about the relation between the direction of rotation of the final control element of the switch and the direction of movement of the window in comparison with a general final control element (final operating element such as knob-type to be operated by pulling up or pushing down, or a sea-saw type), and that the position of installation of the final control element of the switch tends to project. In addition, when operation switches for a plurality of windows are installed at one location (for example, at a driver's seat), if this technology is applied only to one of the operation switches (for example, the operation switch for the driver's seat) and other operation switches are remained in a general structure, a part of the operation switches exhibits a different shape, which may lead to a design problem (strangeness in design). The device disclosed in JP-A-9-60420 has disadvantage in that the cost may increase by providing the push switch separately.
The device disclosed in JP-A-7-139260 has a problem in that the action velocity cannot be switched when an automatic operating function is not provided. For example, as regards the windows for the rear seats in the vehicle, they are not provided with the automatic operating function normally (that is, they are not provided with switches for automatic operation). In this case, the technology disclosed in JP-A-7-139260 cannot be applied. In a case of a high velocity, it is always operated by the automatic operating function to the fully opened position or to the fully closed position, the manual operation for moving the window at a high velocity to a given position cannot be done.